Can Vitamin D Offer Relief from Chronic Pain?

Me, getting my hands hennaed in Pushkar, India

 

In May, I posted on the benefits of Vitamin D as a way to help reduce the risk of blood clots – as a stroke and APS (antiphospholipid syndrome) patient, that’s  always on my mind.

Now a new study, reported in Internal Medicine News, has linked low Vitamin D to increased musculoskeletal pain.

The study showed that patients in chronic musculoskeletal pain have lower levels of Vitamin D. Thus, the study’s author, Dr. Suzan Abou-Raya, professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Alexandria in Egypt, recommends that all patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain consider Vitamin D supplements.

That could be huge news for autoimmune, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome patients who count chronic pain as one of the worst villains of their disease.

I know Vitamin D seemed to help me–a lot!  In May I wrote:

A funny thing happened after I began taking Vitamin D:  I began to feel better. I noticed fewer of those classic autoimmune “flares”–puffy hands, aching joints–days when it hurt just get out of bed; days when I wanted a nap just from the effort of taking a shower. When my D was up, I seemed to have more energy, higher stamina, more enthusiasm.

No one could think of a reason that Vitamin D should reduce flares but, hey, I took it for the blessing it was.

Now we know, maybe I’m not crazy; maybe there is a reason.

Have you had experience with Vitamin D?

 

Related links:

Low Vitamin D Linked to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

faviconVitamin D deficiency risky for APS and autoimmune patients